Mule Springs Farm in Oregon and Beyond

Antique Eggs in the Old Barn

At the beginning of the barn restoration the work crew found a hand blown glass egg buried in the ground beneath a beam. The discovery occurred during the first few “dangerous” days. The barn was leaning heavily to one side, and one of the vertical support beams inside the barn was broken, and no one knew if the barn would collapse when the work began. One of the rotted sill beams, which should have been resting on the foundation, was lying in the dirt. While he was digging, a workman disturbed a round white object, and when he picked it up, he discovered it was a perfectly preserved glass egg. He realized if his shovel had dug just a little to the right, he would have smashed the egg. The following day another glass egg was found.

Hand-blown glass eggs found buried beneath the old barn.

The builder was so excited to share the find. When I arrived to see if the barn was still standing after another day of tugging and bracing Laurie, co-owner of Southslope WoodWorks, trotted up to me as soon as I got out of my car. “Look what we found,” she exclaimed, and she held out a small box. Inside, two eggs were lying on a bed of brown tissue paper.

Laurie said, “It looks like they’re chicken eggs. We can’t believe they’re not broken. The guys were pretty excited when they found these. I wonder what they were used for?”

I bet they were employed to fool a farmer’s chickens, but I wasn’t sure if they fooled the chickens into laying more eggs or if they encouraged the hen to lay less eggs. I’ve raised pigeons and placed plastic eggs under hens to slow down breeding in my lofts, but usually people want chickens to lay more eggs, because they eat the eggs. But I’ve never kept chickens, so I wasn’t sure how the fake eggs worked.

I took the question to several online pigeon fancy groups I belong to, because many of these folks also raise chickens. I discovered that glass eggs were very common in the mid-nineteenth century. On the farm the plain white eggs had several uses: they were placed in an outside nest (usually on the ground) to encourage the hen to lay in the same place (so the farmer could easily find the eggs), and inside the coop they were placed in the nesting box to help induce a hen to begin laying eggs.

Glass eggs as they might have appeared in a farmyard mid-nineteenth century.

In the late 1800s glass eggs were decorated with colorful painted designs and given as gifts on Easter. Since the eggs were made of glass, they lasted much longer than a real egg (as long as they remained unbroken) and became treasured heirlooms.

Glass Easter eggs Victorian Era -- photo courtesy Richard Cottrell.

Terry B from PigeonsNW explained how glass eggs helped with darning socks. She wrote: “The egg was placed inside the toe or heel of the sock and the darning needle would slip across the egg surface during a stitch rather than snag other parts of the sock.” Clever!

Roy Cooke a longtime pigeon fancier who lives in Georgia told me some people used “an instrument called a darning egg.” A darning egg was made out of wood and sometimes it was painted. A long handle was attached to the wide bottom of the egg.

Antique Darning Egg

The glass eggs tricked not only chickens and Easter celebrators, into thinking they could be real eggs, but they also mislead snakes. Snakes eat eggs. Cooke explained how eggs were sometimes used to lessen the snake population around the chicken coop. When a farmer was having frequent problems with snakes eating his family’s chicken eggs, he would place glass eggs in the nest. The snake would slither into the coop, find the nest box, and eat the glass egg. As the snake tried to leave the coop by sliding through the same slim hole in the wire, the bulge caused by the egg would snag the snake, and the egg would break. And as Roy said, “No more snake.” Roy reminded me these practices occurred in parts of the rural South where a family’s food came from what they could grow a raise, and the people’s resources for predator control was often ingenuity.

I’ve thought about what I might do with the glass eggs found in our barn. I’ll be raising chicks in the spring, but I’m afraid I won’t risk breaking these eggs by actually “using” them around the farm. I will display them somehow in our new house –along with a pile of square nails–as a reminder of a period in American history when everyday objects were both useful and beautiful.

Author’s Note: Thanks to Roy Cooke, Samir Dzafic, Terry B, and Richard Cotrrell who provided family stories and historic information for this essay.

Thanks Sher!
I remember fake eggs being used for mean chickens that did not want you to take their eggs. Helped stop fights among the hens too! I think my favorite story is the snake eating the egg then slithering away. Crunch!
Cherry

What are moon snail shells? Did you find those on the beach? Much I don’t know about the eggs, such as where they came from, who created them. And Bruce wondered if they were heavy and made of thick glass. I didn’t say how light and relatively delicate they are. It is truly remarkable they survived all those years under the barn without breaking. 🙂

What an interesting story. I recall darning ankle socks when I was a schoolgirl, and in those years in Southern Africa, people used a wooden mushroom shaped object sometimes; or, for that matter, any suitable shaped rigid object.

FzI have a glass egg that is ostrich size that was given to my paternal Granmother (1900-1964) when she was nine years old by her favorite Uncle. It’s beautifully decorated–even with 24kt gold! Often wondered its value?

FzI have a glass egg that is ostrich size that was given to my paternal Granmother (1900-1964) when she was nine years old by her favorite Uncle. It’s beautifully decorated–even with 24kt gold! Often wondered its value? Hello — what a treasure you have regardless of the monetary worth. I have never seen such a large egg made into a decorative item like you describe — how special and wonderful, and I am so glad you have it. I have the paring knife my great-grandmother used and the lifter she used to open the lid on her wood cook stove.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Sher

I have 9 glass eggs such as you had found, I found them with a bunch og old things that were being given away. I knew what they were and snatched them up. Do you have any idea of what they are worth?? I think they were just going to throw them away, how terrible that would’ve been!!!

I have 9 glass eggs such as you had found, I found them with a bunch og old things that were being given away. I knew what they were and snatched them up. Do you have any idea of what they are worth?? I think they were just going to throw them away, how terrible that would’ve been!!!
Hello- what a find for you too. I don’t have any idea what they are worth. For me their worth is sentimental value, but you might try taking them to an area antique store and they may be able to price them for you. Good luck. Sher

I have a basket of these glass eggs, all of them painted with flowers, that my aunt painted when I was a child. She painted them and gave them to us for Easter and she even dated them. Some are as far back as 1949. I remember she bought these eggs at the hardware store for just a little bit of nothing. The hardware stores are forever gone just as the glass eggs they sold are gone. If anyone knows where I can get any of these glass eggs please let me know. I would love to paint my own to add to my collections. Kay

I have a basket of these glass eggs, all of them painted with flowers, that my aunt painted when I was a child. She painted them and gave them to us for Easter and she even dated them. Some are as far back as 1949. I remember she bought these eggs at the hardware store for just a little bit of nothing. The hardware stores are forever gone just as the glass eggs they sold are gone. If anyone knows where I can get any of these glass eggs please let me know. I would love to paint my own to add to my collections. Kay

Hello Kay — thank you for your interesting comments. I imagine you can find some plain glass eggs through E-Bay. I love the idea of having hand-painted designs on the eggs. You have a real treasure. Best of luck in your search– Sher

Today I was walking in the woods next to an old stone wall when I saw one of these glass eggs sitting between two stones on top of the wall. don’t know much about it but it’s a neat find Hi Shane: That is neat. I wonder how the egg remained there without falling from the wind and rain? Was it protected? Because you say it was on top of an old wall. I am curious what part of the country you live in? Was this a farm-rural area where such eggs might be expected to be still around from the days of early farming? Sher

Amazing. We are in the process of having our c.1784 barn restored, and when I came home today our timber framers had found a glass egg identical to yours buried in the dirt underneath a concrete pad that was poured in 1917. One of the workers identified it as being used to encourage laying. How weird that we found ours intact buried in a barn, too.

Amazing. We are in the process of having our c.1784 barn restored, and when I came home today our timber framers had found a glass egg identical to yours buried in the dirt underneath a concrete pad that was poured in 1917. One of the workers identified it as being used to encourage laying. How weird that we found ours intact buried in a barn, too.

What a wonderful coincidence. Thanks for sharing this. It is amazing that our eggs were intact. They must be quite tough. I now have mine inside a songbird’s nest sitting on the granite counter top in our new bathroom. A fond reminder of the restoration of the barn and the history here at Mule Springs.

I have my Gramdmothers, it was given to her when she was a baby. She was born 1897

Wow — that is remarkable. I have a strong feeling these eggs are pretty tough. My cat just knocked one off of the nest that was sitting on a granite counter top, and the egg hit the tile floor and did not break. Still, I had to move the eggs for how many times can I get that lucky, and it would be a real shame if they did break. Thanks for your comment. Sher

The glass eggs are actually quite durable, my mother has a few that had been given to her when her grandmother passed, and they had been used on the farm they had. She also have a few that are carved eggs, made of stone used for the same purpose, and also handy snake bait. Snake would eat the warm stone egg, and get stuck in the hole it slithered in through and would become dinner the next time my great-grandparents came out. Also good deterrent for weasels/ferrets, they would find the stone eggs and after a fews tries they would move on to toher feeding opportunities

The glass eggs are actually quite durable, my mother has a few that had been given to her when her grandmother passed, and they had been used on the farm they had. She also have a few that are carved eggs, made of stone used for the same purpose, and also handy snake bait. Snake would eat the warm stone egg, and get stuck in the hole it slithered in through and would become dinner the next time my great-grandparents came out. Also good deterrent for weasels/ferrets, they would find the stone eggs and after a fews tries they would move on to toher feeding opportunities

Very interesting details. Thank you. I have a friend in Georgia who told me about they were used for snakes, but I did not know about their use for weasels and martins. That makes excellent sense. Thanks so much for the comments. Still remarkable – they are glass and yet are found fifty plus years later lying on the barn floor! Sher

My Grandmother turn’s 80 this Saturday and I have just received a dozen of these eggs that belonged to her father. I would love to know if there are any reference books i can look up as i am photographing many items and creating a digital scrapbook for her. I would like to have both family history and historic documentation if possible. Thank you.

My Grandmother turn’s 80 this Saturday and I have just received a dozen of these eggs that belonged to her father. I would love to know if there are any reference books i can look up as i am photographing many items and creating a digital scrapbook for her. I would like to have both family history and historic documentation if possible. Thank you.
Hello Kimberly:
Thanks for writing. I did not do any deep research on this topic– other than looking at various types of eggs that were made and in talking with some folks that used them. I did speak with a man from the south who said they were used for snake control, because when the big snakes ate the egg , the egg would burst as it went through the snake’s system. Good luck with your project. You might contact local historical societies or look at Google Scholar and search glass eggs or antique chicken eggs. Sher

I haven’t read all the anecdotes written here but I do have a solid metal (bronze? copper?) egg about 1″ x 1.5″ that we found out in our flower garden in CT. It used to be the site of a boarding school around 1815 but obviously our history in NE reaches much further beyond the 19th century. Anyone know if solid metal eggs were also used as nesting eggs?

I haven’t read all the anecdotes written here but I do have a solid metal (bronze? copper?) egg about 1″ x 1.5″ that we found out in our flower garden in CT. It used to be the site of a boarding school around 1815 but obviously our history in NE reaches much further beyond the 19th century. Anyone know if solid metal eggs were also used as nesting eggs? Hello Amy and thanks for posting. I am not aware of metal eggs being used, but it is possible if that was the main substance they had to make eggs. I know glass and wood eggs were used and now, of course, plastic eggs. Good luck, and I hope someone has more information for you. Sher

I remember seeing a glass egg in a hen’s nest when I was a child. I then asked my neighbor if her chickens had laid any glass eggs lately. She laughed and told me they used the glass eggs to induce the hens to lay their own eggs in the nest. I think the ones my family used were rather heavy, like solid glass or possibly ceramic. I got here by looking up darning eggs, as I recall my mother had one she used for darning socks. I thought one might be useful for repairing a hole in a sweater.
Great story about finding the eggs in the barn.

“I remember seeing a glass egg in a hen’s nest when I was a child. I then asked my neighbor if her chickens had laid any glass eggs lately. She laughed and told me they used the glass eggs to induce the hens to lay their own eggs in the nest. I think the ones my family used were rather heavy, like solid glass or possibly ceramic. I got here by looking up darning eggs, as I recall my mother had one she used for darning socks. I thought one might be useful for repairing a hole in a sweater.
Great story about finding the eggs in the barn.”
Thanks Sally! I appreciate your sharing your memories. It’s interesting this post has received more comments and views than any other on my site. A topic of memory for quite a few. All the best to you — Sher